ARTICLE: How to buy a *USED* Car in India

This is a discussion on ARTICLE: How to buy a *USED* Car in India within On buying a car, part of the Team-BHP Advice category; My dad wants to sell his 9 year old Petrol Accent. He is looking to buy a second hand car ...

My dad wants to sell his 9 year old Petrol Accent. He is looking to buy a second hand car below 5 lac. His travel is mostly on highways and ghat roads with bad road conditions. The car needs to have good boot space. But he wants a car smaller than Accent. Any suggestions?

Boot space is slightly bigger/same as an Alto (I think around 170 L). You can safely assume that modern Maruti cars (i.e. cheaper segments) will have extraordinary cabin space but a tiny boot. Handling would not be assuring at high speeds and it is best suited for city driving (engine characteristics).

Have a look at the Figo, it is a dynamically rich car (perfect for highways) and has a 280 L boot (similar to Old i20 I think). If you have 5 Lac budget, then the Figo diesel would be absolute bang for the buck!

Boot space is slightly bigger/same as an Alto (I think around 170 L). You can safely assume that modern Maruti cars (i.e. cheaper segments) will have extraordinary cabin space but a tiny boot. Handling would not be assuring at high speeds and it is best suited for city driving (engine characteristics).

Have a look at the Figo, it is a dynamically rich car (perfect for highways) and has a 280 L boot (similar to Old i20 I think). If you have 5 Lac budget, then the Figo diesel would be absolute bang for the buck!

I would have suggested a figo for a boot - also for its ride characteristics - but it is kind of underpowered at low gears, especially on ghat roads. That may be a factor of driving style and keeping the engine at a certain base RPM level but still .. point to be noted if you buy one and then have to ask people to get off and walk a bit on a steep slope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vin11

Boot space is slightly bigger/same as an Alto (I think around 170 L). You can safely assume that modern Maruti cars (i.e. cheaper segments) will have extraordinary cabin space but a tiny boot. Handling would not be assuring at high speeds and it is best suited for city driving (engine characteristics).

Have a look at the Figo, it is a dynamically rich car (perfect for highways) and has a 280 L boot (similar to Old i20 I think). If you have 5 Lac budget, then the Figo diesel would be absolute bang for the buck!

I would have suggested a figo for a boot - also for its ride characteristics - but it is kind of underpowered at low gears, especially on ghat roads. That may be a factor of driving style and keeping the engine at a certain base RPM level but still .. point to be noted if you buy one and then have to ask people to get off and walk a bit on a steep slope.

If he gets a diesel Figo (possible in his 5 Lac budget), I don't think this situation will be there. I have driven diesel Figo (not on ghats) and it has negligible turbo lag, it kicks in at very low RPMs and usable driving range is similar to that of the Liva diesel.

I can't particularly digest one line - It is underpowered at low gears. In comparison to the Accent (that he has now) or the petrol WagonR?

Plus I haven't heard of the "get off and walk a bit" thingy, possibly because I haven't driven a car on ghat roads. If this is the case with Figo, then I think WagonR would be no exception. It is a lower segment car after all.

I would have suggested a figo for a boot - also for its ride characteristics - but it is kind of underpowered at low gears, especially on ghat roads. That may be a factor of driving style and keeping the engine at a certain base RPM level but still .. point to be noted if you buy one and then have to ask people to get off and walk a bit on a steep slope.

Well, I have driven a Maruti 800 through ghat roads with 4 people on board and no one had to step out and walk. I guess Figo and Wagon R won't be worst than good old Maruti 800. :rolleyes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by vin11

If he gets a diesel Figo (possible in his 5 Lac budget), I don't think this situation will be there. I have driven diesel Figo (not on ghats) and it has negligible turbo lag, it kicks in at very low RPMs and usable driving range is similar to that of the Liva diesel.

I can't particularly digest one line - It is underpowered at low gears. In comparison to the Accent (that he has now) or the petrol WagonR?

Plus I haven't heard of the "get off and walk a bit" thingy, possibly because I haven't driven a car on ghat roads. If this is the case with Figo, then I think WagonR would be no exception. It is a lower segment car after all.

Thanks for the suggestion guys. I will take a look at two of these car models over the weekend. Let's see if I can find a good one.

Last edited by ampere : 5th September 2015 at 17:55.
Reason: Merged back to back posts

It is perfectly fine to buy a discontinued model, if you get hold of a good condition car. Spare part availability is not an issue for at least 5 years for discontinued cars. Santro is one good car, that has mechanical support at almost every FNG and would serve you well within the city.

Figo would also be apt but i10 (1.2 Kappa old one) and Dzire (again, old one) would be better choices, at more or less the same price.

I would suggest the Ritz Petrol. It is VFM, Good in the city and highways alike, decent boot space and backed by Maruti network.

Thanks a lot for the advice. Actually speaking there are lot of good cars out there and I am bit confused which one to buy. But more than that, most of the time I cannot decide the price the sellers quote for their cars is appropriate. I sort of take the price carwale gives as a reference but then still, have no idea of how to arrive at a appropriate price.

I have a question about making payments for used cars. Since I'm inspired by the most popular Pre-Worshipped car thread these days, I was planning to pick up a similar car. Now my question is about transferring money to the seller. I can't carry cash to pay and take the car. I'll have to do an electronic transfer. How to ensure the seller doesn't take the money and then start acting funny.

Looking for used Wagon R, 2008 VXI variant.
Asking price is 1.85 lakhs.
Kms Driven is 50K Kms, car taking from owner. Single owner.
I have checked with service history, and the insurance part. Both looks good.
Iam new to driving and want to keep the car for long time.
Please let me know is this deal worth.